The Seventh Seal (The Chronicles of Daniel Stone Book 1) Page 22

  *

  We watched intently the approaching mob, straining to see the outline of Smee; we too had the same plan: kill the head of the snake.

  ‘Professor, are you ready?’ said Albertus.

  The Professor was fidgeting in his bag for snap jack and other countermeasures to assist us.

  ‘Yes, yes,’ he said, frustrated and mumbling to himself, trying to find what he was looking for.

  Albertus turned to us. ‘Prepare to fight.’

  Daniel looked flummoxed. ‘What do I do, Albertus?’

  ‘When you wield the drows to protect yourself, you will know…’ Albertus held up his hand to stop Daniel asking another question.

  ‘I know what you are going to ask, but I can’t give you any more answers. You are part Theran and have more understanding of the balance than you realise. You will work out what you have to do, you will feel it,’ he said with a little impatience, fuelled by worry.

  Daniel looked a little incredulous, but there was no time to question Albertus’ wisdom.

  We recognised we were more vulnerable than when we met Smee in the desert. We had lost the First Seal since then and despite recovering the Seventh Seal we could not put Daniel into a Theran Triangle and the Professor’s attempt at controlling it had been only partially successful. It was just too risky. We had to fight it out in one-to-one combat, despite the obvious odds that were stacked against us. For the protection of hope, we ignored this obvious flaw in our plan.

  As we watched Smee march through the barrier, the street ahead of us suddenly filled with smoke and then the background noise of the surrounding city was punched by two loud explosive cracks. One! Two! We all jumped. There were shouts and cries and all we could make out were black featureless forms running out of the smoke to the sides of the street, trying to find cover.

  ‘Cranford, you fool,’ I shouted.

  ‘What’s going on, Elias?’ demanded Albertus.

  Cranford was only trying to help. He, of course, did not understand the capabilities of our mutual foe and had now placed all the police officers in danger. We had come here to keep the fight amongst us.

  ‘It’s Cranford… he thinks he can handle Smee.’

  Smee, knowing he was walking into a trap, had Simean set off two smoke grenades a fraction of a second before the shots were fired; this was enough to destroy the shooters’ aim and cause havoc on the streets.

  The snipers, as it turned out, were Jones and Abberline; Cranford had at least the sense to keep the knowledge at close quarters. They cursed to themselves as both shots missed their targets.

  Jenkins and his fellow officers ducked and cowered instinctively as the smoke filled the streets and the two gunshots rang out but stuck to their orders and didn’t get involved, blissfully unaware of the danger they were in.

  Smee, however, luckily for the police, was not interested in a fight with them and within a few moments had regrouped the men and they continued their march towards us, unthreatened by the distraction.

  ‘Prepare yourself,’ said Albertus nervously as they approached.

  ‘Good morning, Albertus, I did enjoy your little game back there, but come now, is that the best you could do, old man?’ he said mockingly.

  He snarled at Daniel, ‘I hope you are ready to die, boy.’

  ‘Your words and threats, Odling, hold no fear for us,’ said Albertus calmly.

  ‘Oh, my dear Albertus, I have no intention of striking fear into you with words; I have enough men with guns and swords and a passion for killing to do that for me.’

  Albertus cringed. He could see our situation was desperate. Geddy barked.

  ‘Shut that stupid dog up or he’ll be the first to go,’ shouted Smee, now with wildness in his eyes; an uncontrolled look that sent fear into all of us. We could see in that moment how fragile he was, walking a knife edge between control and cold-hearted killer; his ability to manage his own anger was gone. Geddy cowered a little and snarling reversed in behind Daniel.

  Smee took a deep breath to bring himself back.

  ‘Now, Albertus, I have, as you can imagine, a grand plan for Earth, Arthe and Thera, which of course, doesn’t involve you. Unlike the last time we met I now have the Arcanum and the First Seal as well as around a hundred men all armed with guns that will outwit your stupid drows. You know what power I already have so you will also know that you will all die if you choose to fight.’

  Smee’s assessment of our chances sent chills through all of us.

  ‘Odling, you have no idea what power you have. You could cause untold destruction if you open the Arcanum in the presence of all seven seals. You would kill us all,’ said Albertus in retort.

  Smee laughed. ‘Please, Albertus, your little children’s tales will not wash with me.’

  ‘Well if you open up the Arcanum you will find out for yourself…’ said Albertus confidently.

  Smee paused; he didn’t know the real power of the Arcanum, that was true, and Albertus thought this fact might buy us a little time, but Smee was no fool.

  ‘Your bluffs hold no sway with me, Albertus, but I had anticipated your strategy, you old fool, so I have an alternative conundrum for you to consider. My men in Arthe have been wrapping you an early Christmas present and have kidnapped Michael, Sarah and Daniel Stone. They have orders to kill them if I don’t contact them within the next hour. So you see, either way you lose. I either open the Arcanum, which holds no fear for me, or I kill the Stone family on Arthe.’

  Smee laughed at his own cunning and guile and absorbed himself in his own self-congratulation.

  Daniel had trouble concealing how upset he was and looked at Albertus with an ‘are you going to let him get away with that?’ look.

  ‘Smee, you know no boundaries, do you? They are an innocent family who have nothing to do with us or this fight,’ said Albertus despondently.

  Smee fed on this emotion, soaking up its energy like a lizard on a sun-drenched rock and smiled.

  ‘It’s your choice, Albertus, no one has to die today; bow to my power and accept your new grand leader and we can all go about our lives. You will, of course, need to serve me; you will be my personal butler.’ He laughed and could not contain his excitement at the thought.

  ‘Smee, you are delusional. You are not fit to lead yourself let alone the peoples of this planet,’ said Albertus with a hint of sadness at the fall of a boy who he had once held in high regard.

  ‘Then there is no more to be said. I think I will open the Arcanum first.’

  *

  Jenkins, curious to get a closer look at the action, had followed stealthily behind Smee, using the smoke-filled street as extra cover. He pulled up short of the back of the group, using the indented architecture of the building facades to hide himself, peeking at the scene now in front of him and trying to pick up the slightest sounds of voices. What are they saying? he said to himself, now aching with curiosity to find out more.

  Cranford regrouped with Jones and Abberline.

  ‘What on Earth happened?’ Cranford screamed at both of them, ignoring any respect for the rank of his senior officer.

  Jones, used to this, reacted with his typical subjugated demeanour and, with his head lowered, turned his head slightly to look at Abberline to see what he would do in response to his commanding officer’s outburst.

  ‘I’m sorry…’ said Abberline with genuine feeling.

  Jones kept his head down and allowed himself a silent open mouthed gasp at what had just happened, but as it turned out what he had just witnessed was nothing compared with the events about to unfold…

  *

  Despite the confidence expressed by Smee, the fact of the matter was that he did not know what would happen when the Arcanum was opened in the presence of the seven seals. Almost all knowledge about the Arcanum was legend. Albertus as far as we were concerned was the lead authority on its power but even he looked on nervously as the little box was opened…

  We were transfixed, stuck in a
limbo state of nothingness where we were all lost forever to the fate of the Arcanum. We were brought back to the ‘here and now’ with a shock. All seven seals were now floating in mid-air in front of us and between us and Smee. The Arcanum had instantly transported the seals and set them up in a vertical spinning triangle with the Seventh Seal in the middle.

  The Seventh Seal, sparkling like a beautiful star, was connected to the other six by energy beams and it connected back to the Arcanum with a similar singular beam. It was both magical and frightening as it now looked like a weapon. The Arcanum, in the hands of our enemy, was the trigger.

  Shock soon turned to horror as the smile on Smee’s face broadened. He began to slowly move his hand, swinging the Arcanum back and forth like a pendulum. The weapon moved instantly, responding to his commands, and the brightness of the energy fields connecting the seals left bright light trails, which our eyes kept following; it was quite hypnotic.

  ‘Well, my dear Albertus, it would seem you were wrong.’ Smee laughed.

  ‘I now have the power; I am in control. You must surely concede now and bow to my will,’ commanded Smee with a new air of detached authority that even Simean found disconcerting.

  Albertus’ face dropped once again, as he turned to us all with sorrowful and tear-filled eyes.

  ‘I am sorry, I have let you all down, but it is not to be today, my dear friends. We are beaten. The time of the Keepers is now passed; a new order is to command and we have to accept that this is the will of life, the will of the balance.’

  Albertus dropped his head as he turned back to a now enraptured Smee.

  ‘I am glad, Albertus, that you have seen the way forward and I accept your surrender honourably. I will spare you and the Stone family.’

  Smee appeared magisterial and regal as he lifted his chin and held out his hand for Albertus to kneel and kiss in the final act of public humiliation that he had so desired for all these years. Smee’s men were already celebrating as we looked on in building anger as Albertus knelt down in front of Smee.

  ‘Kiss my hand, Albertus and swear allegiance to the new order, to your new Grand Leader, Odling Victor Smee.’

  These words cut through us like a drows, deep and fatal. I had never felt so low and lost than at that moment. It would have been kinder and more honourable to have killed Albertus there and then than to witness the complete destruction of him piece by piece. To see all that he was, great and wise, compassionate and fair, taken and imprisoned by Smee was worse than any death I could have imagined.

  *

  Jenkins looked on with awe, completely spellbound by the spinning seals he could see. Even from his more distant vantage point they seemed to have a clarity and sharpness within his vision more than any other part of his surrounding vista. He was in a trance and began to walk toward the seals, ignoring the men to his right, who at any rate seemed quite content in their celebrations.

  Cranford, Abberline and Jones were making their way from the rear.

  ‘Who’s that idiot?’ said Cranford incredulously.

  ‘Jenkins, sir, he doesn’t know anything,’ said Jones, defending the actions of the police officer.

  ‘I don’t care what he knows or doesn’t know. He is supposed to stick to his orders. This is a complete mess. Come on, we need to do something,’ retorted an angry Cranford.

  *

  As Albertus now knelt, Smee could sense something and span around in surprise to see the entranced figure of Jenkins. The Arcanum weapon span around with him and it was now facing away from us.

  ‘Who the hell are you?’ demanded a surprised Smee.

  Jenkins snapped out of his trance, unaware of the journey he had just made. He looked around him, stuttering, his brain trying to process the scene, trying to find words to explain his position.

  ‘I’m Jenkins, sir,’ he said finally and firmly.

  ‘I’ve been assigned to you to ensure you are not disturbed… I’m sorry; I don’t know what came over me. I hope I haven’t messed anything up,’ he said apologetically.

  ‘What are you talking about, you fool? Kill him, Simean; my patience has gone with this place and its people,’ he commanded.

  With that, Geddy, who had been cowering behind Daniel, saw his opportunity and in the confusion he sped off at full speed, hitting Smee’s leg with full force, sinking his teeth in with impunity.

  ‘Arrrrgggghhhhh,’ screamed Smee in pain.

  The Professor immediately added to the mayhem with several large snap jack bombs and within a moment we felt our fortunes had begun to change.

  The force of Geddy hitting Smee at full speed caused him to rotate and as Geddy’s teeth sunk firmly into his calf muscle he lost balance.

  The Arcanum gun was now angled upwards towards the sky and fired. In a direct line of sight from the seals skyward, the air rippled like waves on a sea to a point around two hundred feet above our heads. Smee was held frozen in mid-air, neither up nor down, as the emanations from the Arcanum began to resolve a hole in the sky.

  ‘Albertus, what’s happening?’ said Daniel.

  ‘It’s just as I’d feared: it’s tearing a hole between realities, between Earth, Arthe and Thera.’

  ‘What will happen?’ cried Daniel.

  ‘The end,’ said the Professor chillingly.

  ‘We have to stop it,’ pleaded Daniel.

  Albertus turned to Alexander. ‘Professor, what can we do?’

  Simean and his men were transfixed, but this was not going to last. Albertus acted.

  ‘Simean, we are all going to die unless we do something.’

  Simean snapped out of his gaze and just smiled.

  ‘Well now you would say that, old man, wouldn’t you? I have a hundred men here who could kill you all in a matter of minutes,’ he snarled.

  Behind him like baying dogs Simean’s men’s victory celebrations were converted into a vitriolic frenzy. They had come for a fight and that was what they were going to get. Our situation was now perilous. Simean looked at them and back at Albertus with a victorious smile.

  ‘I’m an honourable villain, Albertus and I can see that a hundred men armed with guns is not going to be much of a fight against you with your drows, so we will fight with our swords only and give you a chance.’

  Simean burst into laughter as he turned to his men and gave them the instruction to ditch their guns. This act, like the blowing of a whistle, marked the start of the battle.

  Albertus turned to all of us.

  ‘Prepare yourselves… we must fight,’ he commanded.

  We all took up position in a line in front of the frenzied horde; our hearts were pounding and we were terrified.

  Simean laughed and turned to his men. ‘Look at them, lambs to the slaughter; enjoy yourselves, men,’ he ordered and waved his arm forward, signifying their charge into us.

  The Professor, who had been buried in his leather journal, mumbling his usual gibberish, now stood up and threw down a barrage of snap jack bombs.

  Albertus shouted, ‘Run, run for your lives,’ and he set off running towards Bartholomew Lane.

  We didn’t have time to question his motives and Simean and his men stopped and just laughed, shouting ‘Coward’ and making chicken sounds. They knew we had nowhere to run. We were trapped.

  We followed Albertus, hoping he had some great plan and at the same time were saddened to see someone we respected so much running away. We ran with tears in our eyes. Smee was still locked in his gravity-defying pose, frozen, as we entered Bartholomew Lane. Albertus now looked calm, resigned we supposed, to our fate.

  From behind us we heard Simean charge his men once again with our demise and there was a rumble, like an incoming storm, as the men moved en masse to kill us.

  ‘All of you get yourselves into line,’ shouted Albertus.

  ‘You need to fight until help arrives,’ he once again commanded. This was the Albertus we had come to respect, a leader of stature. We had no idea what was going on, but we could at
least see why he had taken us into the lane; he had played Simean and we surged with hope.

  Threadneedle Street was wide, too wide to defend against a hundred men; we would have been overwhelmed and surrounded, killed in minutes. Bartholomew Lane was narrower and we could defend this on more equal terms.

  Albertus leant down to speak to Daniel. He was clearly frightened.

  ‘Daniel, you are the Keeper of the Seventh Seal; let your drows do the work, it will protect you. Don’t fight its will. Do you understand?’ He shook Daniel by the shoulders trying to almost press his words into him.

  Daniel nodded, not really knowing what he meant.

  ‘Paris, James, protect Daniel,’ he ordered.

  We pushed Daniel to the back of the group as the first wave of Simean’s men entered the lane. They had numbers, but we had intellect and skill with a drows.

  James, Paris, Lucius and I fought in one group and Thomas, Jade and Daniel fought in the other, with Lucius, James and Paris alternating to join them to maintain a strength of four. Between attacks they swapped, giving each group time to rest. Albertus and the Professor remained buried in the Professor’s journal.

  After the first attack it was time for Daniel to stand up. I could see tears of fear in his eyes, but there was nothing more we could do for him. Jade looked at Daniel and smiled. ‘You’ll be fine; it’s not your time to die today,’ she said confidently.

  We learn early on as a Keeper that fear is often irrational and fed by a lack of confidence. Well Jade fed Daniel that day with confidence and you could see him push out his chest and appear to increase in size. He smiled at Jade and she nodded, returning a smile of affirmation. They both now looked forward at the oncoming group of men.

  Daniel stood with his drows ready and already extended in response to the impending attack. To his left he had Jade and Thomas and to his right stood Paris. As his fear grew and the enemy neared, his left arm, holding the drows, swung up to parry the initial blows and before he knew what was going on he was in the midst of a battle. The drows was in control, dealing out riposte and parry moves that he had little skill or knowledge in. His body danced about his enemy under the martialling influence of the drows.